Rrrring... Rrring...
"Come on, damn you!"
Rrrring... Rrring... Rrring...
"Open that door!"
Rrring... Thud! Thud! Rrrrring... Thud!
"Open up, already! I'm freezing my butt off out here!"
The door finally swung open, revealing a tousled Dr. Roy Stein in a white shirt and slept-in jeans, looking equal parts sleepy, exhausted and startled.
Oh, and hot of course. Mind-bogglingly hot.
"Cassy!" he rasped, his voice as rough as sandpaper. "Cassy, what are you—"
I hurled myself at him. Even in his current state, he reacted fast. Strong arms came up around me, catching me, pressing me to his chiseled chest. Tightening his grip, he lifted me, until our faces were on one level, black eyes staring into dark chocolate brown.
"Can you ever forgive me, Cassy? What I did last night—"
He was talking too much. Much too much.
I simply grabbed him by the back of the head and kissed him. That shut him up. With a raw, masculine growl, he hauled me into the house, kicking the door shut behind us. Snow covering my thick coat and woolen cap sprayed right and left, but he didn't care. In fact, to judge by the way his hands were getting busy pulling off my coat and fisting in my hair, he positively liked it.
And me, too.
His kiss was searing. His lips held mine with a force that should have been painful, but wasn't. It was like a rush. A ride on a wild horse that you know might get you killed, but you revel in anyway. A drug that was so good you would never even think of giving it up, only getting more.
It was truly happening. Dr. Roy Stein was kissing me.
Well, all right, maybe I had kissed him. But it wasn't as if he didn't kiss me back. Quite the contrary, in fact. He was devouring my mouth with his, exploring every last nook and cranny, dancing a tango with my tongue that made me go limp in his arms and cling to him like a damsel in distress super-glued to her knight in shining armor.
For a while, I just reveled in the fact of being in his arms. For a while, I just swam in bliss. But he had asked me a question. I had to answer.
With a gargantuan effort, I pulled my lips away from his, panting. "What do you think? Does that feel like me forgiving you?"
His dark laugh shook my whole body in delicious ways. "Definitely! What I don't understand is how! After how I treated you last night—"
"I saw the morning paper," I interrupted him.
His eyes met mine, and understanding flashed in them.
"I'm sorry Cassy. I had to go. If there had been any other way..."
"Oh, just shut up and kiss me!"
"Not before I've made you understand how sorry Immmph—"
My kiss cut him off mid-sentence. Kisses were really good for doing that. And he seemed to appreciate it. Another growl rumbled in his chest and he whipped me around, spraying snow everywhere. Lifting me off the floor he surged down the hallway. I caught a brief glimpse of dark wood paneling and a coat stand before we were through a door and in a room of some sort. I barely had time enough to register it had four walls, one floor and one ceiling before he slammed me up against one of the walls and started kissing me in earnest.
Let me tell you, Oscar Wilde knew what he was talking about when he wrote The Importance of Being Earnest. It's important. Really, really important. And it feels just so... oh... aah...
His arms stayed around me the whole time, his hands at the small of my back. He had finally managed to tug my cloak fully off me. How he had done it without breaking the kiss between us was a mystery to me, but right now I didn't care. His skillful hands traveling up my body, touching and caressing, were all that fit into my red hot mind. My own hands let go of his hair in response, to feel every divine inch of his face.
A shiver went through him. For a moment, I thought it was a shiver of pleasure, but then his arms loosened and his hands came up between us, clasping my small fingers in much larger, longer, stronger ones.
"My God, Cassy!" he whispered against my lips. "Your hands are freezing!"
I grinned at him. "That's what walking five miles in freezing weather will do to you."
"Wait—you walked here?"
"Yep."
"The snow out there is... I don't even know how high!"
"I know. That's why I couldn't use the car." I frowned. "I don't have a four-by-four at Barrington Hall. Maybe I should do something about that."
"Oh, Cassy!" He crushed me against his chest, and I could feel his muscles tremble with suppressed laughter. "I don't know whether to laugh or shout at you!"
"How about kissing me again instead?" I suggested.
"Good idea."
And he proceeded to explore my idea with admirable thoroughness and expertise.
Later, when our passion had subsided—actually, a lot later—we were sitting on the sofa in his living room, curled up tightly against each other, enjoying the view. Unlike with most men, his living room sofa didn't face a TV. Instead, it faced a broad set of French doors looking out over the lawn. And on the lawn stood a luxurious bird house, complete with perches and a wide roof protecting the little birds from the elements.
If I hadn't already been falling for him so hard, that sight would have pulled the floor out from underneath me and hurled me into an abyss of warm and fuzzy feelings for the man whose chest I was nestled up against.
"Cassy?"
"Hm?"
"Cassy, please look at me."
I felt pleasantly drowsy and content at his chest, but there was something in his tone that made me look up. When I met his dark gaze, it was full of sincerity. One of his strong hands cupped my face.
"I really am sorry, Cassy. Last night... I should have told you it was an emergency. I shouldn't just have left you standing like that. It's just... the orderly sounded so desperate on the phone, and he told me to come at once, and that it was about a kid, and I couldn't... I just couldn't..."
"Sh." I touched a single finger to his lips, silencing him. "It's all right. I would have probably done the same in your place." A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. "To be honest, I might have stood you up for a cat with a pushpin in her paw."
"A pushpin?" He placed his hand over his heart in fake dismay. "I'm wounded! I'd have thought it would take at least a safety pin to drive thoughts of me from your mind!"
"Sorry to disappoint." My grin widened. "I'm a bit peculiar when it comes to the well-being of cute and cuddly things."
"And what about me?" Leaning towards me until his lips brushed against mine, he caged me in, one of his arms on either side of me, trapping me between his hard body and the sofa backrest. His eyes burned into me with black fire. "Am I cute and cuddly?"
"You? You are lethal!"
"Am I now? I'll have you know that I'm a doctor, my Lady. I don't kill people." He moved forward, pressing me further back into the sofa, the ridges of his hard body digging deliciously into my own. "I heal. I can even perform the kiss of life."
"Really?" My voice sounded rather breathless.
"Oh yes. Allow me to demonstrate..."
And he did. Oh, how he did. I was very glad it was only birds watching us from outside the window. If anyone else had watched the wicked things that man did to me with his mouth, I think I would really have died.
When he finally broke away, leaving me quivering and gasping, he placed a last, chaste kiss on my forehead and gently brushed his knuckles down my cheek.
"I really am sorry."
I laughed. "Will you stop already? Don't worry about last night! It was just a date. Big deal."
His face was suddenly serious. Once again, his fingers gently caressed my cheek. "Yes, it was a big deal. It was with you."
I didn't know how to answer past the giant lump that was suddenly blocking my throat.
"Hey! I've got an idea!" A sparkle entered his dark eyes, and he sat up abruptly, pulling away from me.
"Bad idea!" I complained.
That got another laugh from him. He was wickedly beautiful when he laughed, head thrown back, black hair tangled, just a hint of white glint showing through his enticingly curved lips.
"I am afraid my idea does necessitate us getting up."
"Like I said: bad idea!"
"Please." Leaning forward again, until our noses were almost touching, he fixed me with those eyes of his, nailing me to the spot. My mouth went dry. "Please, Cassy. Give me a chance to make it up to you. I wanted to make your dreams come true last night, and instead, I had to leave you standing in the cold. Give me a second chance. Go on a date with me."
"W-what, now?"
That grin was back on his face. That grin no woman outside a padded cell could resist. "Why not?"
I was grinning back at him! I hadn't even consciously contracted my facial muscles, and still, I had this stupid, happy grin on my face! "You're crazy!"
"Am I, now? Shouldn't you leave the judgement on mental health to the professional in the room?"
His hands traveled down to my sides, tickling, eliciting a helpless giggle.
"No! You're crazy, and that's it! Today is a Tuesday! You have to get to work!"
"After what happened last night?" He shook his head, not ceasing the torturous assault of his fingers. "After a night like that, the hospital staff won't expect me until ten. That leaves us an hour and a half at least."
"Then—hey, wait! That's not right! It's half past nine already."
"Exactly."
"That means you have to be at work in half an hour, not one and a half!"
"True." Gazing deep into my eyes, he pressed a gentle kiss at the corner of my mouth. His fingers smoothly changed tactics from tickling to caressing. "Don't you think I would be an hour late for you anytime? Or two, or three?"
My breath quickened as he worked his magic on me. I had just enough strength left to murmur: "B-but your patients at the h-hospital..."
"A few whiny wimps with running noses." Another kiss teased my lips, just out of reach. "I have my priorities. And I find that you are suddenly at the top of the list. Go on a date with me, Cassy."
"You're completely crazy!" I repeated.
He lifted an eyebrow. "In a good way?"
"Yes! Better than good! Wonderful!"
"Glad to hear it." Sliding both arms underneath me, he stood, bodily lifting me off the sofa. I squealed, throwing my arms around him. Without listening to my protests to put me the hell down, he strode towards the door. "Let's go. I know just the place to go."